On The Fly

Entrepreneur, Nov, 2000 by Gwen Moran

After the lucrative jet-set crowd? Have you tried the airport?

Want to reach the upper echelons of corporate America? Try the airport: Airport advertising is taking off as companies realize its effectiveness in reaching captive audiences of frequent fliers--those well-educated prospects whose household incomes inch close to an average of $140,000 per year.

According to Joe Evans, CEO of Sky Sites Inc. (www.skysites.com), a New York City media company that specializes in airport advertising, airport media represent a diverse array of products that pinpoint the desirable customers who frequently fly. Advertisers can purchase large, illuminated displays in such high-traffic areas as the heads of concourses and entrances to baggage claims, or buy media around frequent-flier clubs. Businesses can even reach a smaller segment of individuals, like those flying in from Europe or the West Coast. Says Evans, "We can actually map out how a company can reach virtually everyone who walks through that airport."

Pricing depends on the airport and the size of the advertisement. Types of media include interactive phone centers, which provide information about local hospitality and transportation services; baggage-cart sponsorships, prominently featured backlit displays atop baggage carousels; leaflet dispensers; and in-airport exhibit space.

Sky Sites has also been testing a system of plasma screens on walls throughout airports. These flat screens display local information, stock quotes, weather, sports and your company's ad.

Gwen Moran is president of Moran Marketing Associations, a public relations and marketing communications agency in Ocean, New Jersey, and founder of BoostYourBiz.com, a marketing information resource. E-mail her at gwen@boostyourbiz.com.